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For years I prayed for my brother.

My brother was bitter and hated everything associated with God. After a heart attack, he needed emergency surgery, Because he chose not to communicate with family, none of us had the opportunity to make a mad-dash, last-ditch effort to talk to him about salvation. Unfortunately, he died during the operation. Nevertheless, all was not lost.

Judas introduced Jesus to an armed mob with a kiss. We see this as an act of betrayal, but since God is sovereign, He can use any circumstance to accomplish His purposes. I like to speculate that maybe someone in that armed mob had a sister, who for years had been praying for her brother to meet Jesus. Maybe that brother hated God and needed to see Jesus restore the ear of an enemy. Maybe Judas' kiss was God's mad-dash, last-ditch effort to show that brother who Jesus was.

Imagining that God would use Judas to point someone to Jesus might seem far-fetched, but God can introduce the lost to Christ in any way He chooses. As for my brother, I found out later that before he was wheeled into surgery, a Christian youth volunteer felt compelled to speak to him. She minced no words, pointed him to Christ, and prayed with him to receive Jesus.

If you're praying for someone who doesn't know Jesus, don't give up. God doesn't want anyone to perish, and He'll do whatever it takes to introduce them to the life-giving Son of God—even if that means using an unconventional, mad-dash, last-ditch effort.

(Photo courtesy of pixabay.)

(For more devotions, visit Christian Devotions.)